AU: 6x09, Nature Vs Nurture
by Twin-Swords
Summary: AU. As requested, a follow up to Destiny's Pull and the second in an AU rewrite of Season Six. As Destiny's Pull rewrites episode 8, Nature Vs. Nurture rewrites episode 9. AU version of Little Monsters.
1. Chapter 1

**Season Six: AU**

**Little Monsters Rewrite (Part I)**

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Chris. Don't own Charmed or any of it's characters and I don't own this episode… but I do own the new twists that I've put on it to continue with my Alternate Universe version of Season Six which began with "Destiny's Pull" -- my rewrite of the episode "Sword in the City". Some of the things you read here will be similar to the original story line, but for the most part things will be greatly diverging from the original version shown on television.

**Author's Note:** Ask and ye shall receive. I was feeling inspired to start this, so here we go with the first chapter of my version of this episode. I'm not going to let this interfere with Destined or Pre-Destined, so updates to this project will be further down on my list of things to work on.

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Phoebe Halliwell's heart is hammering in her chest and she can feel the heat rising in her face as she sits at an intimate table at an upscale San Francisco Italian restaurant with her boyfriend Jason Dean. The two of them are engaged in a passionate kiss as a waiter walks up to their table. He stands quietly, watching for a moment before he clears his throat.

"Pardon me," the waiter says.

Phoebe pulls back from Jason and laughs in embarrassment. She looks up at the waiter as Jason adjusts his shirt collar. Phoebe says, "Hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Oh, no, no, please never apologize for a kiss, signora. Especially for one like that," the waiter tells her. He lifts the bottle of wine to display it to the couple, "Ninty-five Brunello di Montalcino."

Jason nods to the man and says, "Great. Decant it, please."

The waiter bows slightly at the waist and says, "Of course," before he walks away.

Phoebe blushes and fans herself just a bit, "Oh, wow, is that embarrassing."

Jason raises his eyebrows upwards and gives Phoebe a cavalier smile, "You heard what the man said, never apologize."

"I'm so happy for you," Phoebe says with a genuine smile to the man seated with her. He has a twinkle in his eyes as he looks at her.

"Yeah, I still can't believe it. Really, I wanted to buy my granddad's winery ever since he lost it," Jason says, "I just hope he knows that somehow."

"Believe me, he does," Phoebe says.

Jason smiles slightly in amusement at her, "You talk as if you have inside information."

Phoebe shrugs her shoulders and coyly says, "Well, maybe I do."

Jason reaches his hands across the table to wrap around Phoebe's gently. He tilts his head to one side as he looks at her. "You are special, Phoebe."

Phoebe can feel the love emanating from her boyfriend and her brown eyes sparkle as she looks back at him. Her hands are in his and the flare of emotions is too hard for the empath to ignore. The vibes are so strong.

"I love you too," Phoebe says automatically. The words are sincerely spoken, but the instant they are out of her mouth Phoebe sees the sudden halting-record look on Jason's face. There is a long moment of awkward silence.

Jason's brows raise upwards and he draws his hands away from Phoebe's, "I'm sorry?"

Phoebe's horror, and embarrassment is quick to come on as is her hasty attempt to cover up the words that had just spilled from her lips. She looks around and inwardly cringes, "Who said that?"

Jason just stares at her, "Did you say _too_?"

Phoebe laughs nervously, "No, I just said you twice. I said I love you _you_. What I said, oh God…" She knocks over her wine glass and spills the liquid over the table, causing Jason to slide his chair back further. "Whoa!"

A male voice calls out from the restaurant somewhere nearby, "Daniel, table three."

Daniel walks over and begins to wipe up the spill as Paige orbs into the restaurant close by, though out of sight to avoid exposure. Phoebe sees the glow of orbs nearby and tightly smiles to Daniel as he mops up her mess, "Oh, thanks."

Paige walks over towards Jason and Phoebe's table, unaware of the minor (though growing) crisis that she is about to be the diversion from. "Hi."

Phoebe's face floods with her relief, "Paige."

"I am so sorry to interrupt, but Piper's kind of got a bit of a, um, a power problem. She kind of needs some more," Paige says. She flashes Jason a polite smile, but gestures towards Phoebe and lifts her eyebrows in an compelling expression.

"Why doesn't she just call the power company?" Jason asks with mild annoyance.

"Tried and the line is busy. So if you could come like, right now, she'd really love it," Paige says to Phoebe.

Phoebe makes a face as she hears the word _love_ leave her sister's lips. Her humiliation is just being further compounded by the moment. "Oh, oh, please don't use that word. Please don't use that."

The older of the two women stands up in front of her chair and Jason stands as well out of gentleman courtesy. Phoebe looks at him in the uncomfortable interlude, "Okay, alright, so I should go and we will, you know…"

As Phoebe begins to back up, Jason finishes her sentence, "Talk."

"Talk, yeah," Phoebe says. The woman backs up right into a waiter holding a tray full of food and jars the man. She bursts out an apology, "Sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry! Okay."

Paige rests a hand on her sister's shoulder and starts leading her out before any further disaster can happen in the restaurant. "Okay."

Phoebe looks at a man as she passes his table, "Oh, the stuffed shells, great choice. Okay. Bye everyone." She says the last with a too bright and much forced smile as she makes her retreat.

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Piper Halliwell, the eldest surviving Charmed Sister, is crouching in a darkened San Francisco alley. Her chocolate eyes are following the movement of a creature that is standing over a demon. She is relatively hidden from the view of the creature, keeping her vantage point as she waits for her sisters. Occasionally Piper makes a face at the scene playing out in front of her. The demon is screaming in pain from whatever the creature is doing to it when Phoebe and Paige orb in.

"Okay, let's vanquish this demon," Paige says.

Piper turns to look at her sisters and lifts a finger to her lips, "Shh. Something beat us to the punch." She gestures towards the creature over the demon that her younger son from the future had sent them after.

Knowing who Chris was hadn't changed his persistence and stubborn determination to vanquish any possible threats to Wyatt. If anything it had made him even more determined. Knowing _had_ caused Piper to more or less order him to let her and her sisters handle it instead of doing it on his own. She'd made him stay at the Manor tonight after a little argument that had ended with her putting her foot down and saying: _Hey, who is the Mom here? Even King Arthur listened to his mother. You're staying here with Wyatt. That's final. Don't make me bind your powers to make sure you'll do it._

Chris was no doubt pacing around the Manor at this instant like some caged animal. She could just picture his nose wrinkling up and the frustrated, exasperated, and impatient sighs that made her think so much of her older sister Prue. Piper's mind returns to the demon and creature in front of them before she allows herself to follow that train of thought further.

"Eww, what is it doing?" Phoebe asks. Her face contorts with a disgusted expression while she looks on.

"Apparently eating the demon," Piper says.

"Or storing it," Paige comments, pulling a face.

The creature over the demon makes one last tearing gesture that causes the demon to die and turn to dust.

"What is it?" Phoebe hisses softly.

"I don't know," Piper says, "and I don't want to find out. Let's get out of here."

The three sisters stand up ready to leave. The demon spots them and its lizard-like tongue darts out towards them, scenting the air like a serpent. It races towards Phoebe and Paige, quick as lightning and pushes them down the alley. The two younger women fall back against the ground.

Piper raises her hands and tries to blow it up. The effort doesn't work and only serves to make the creature angry. Piper screams out when she realizes that the demon isn't blowing up. She continues to try though, flicking her hands repeatedly in effort to vanquish it or at the very least slow it down. The demon is backing her up against the wall.

Phoebe looks at her older sister and looks to her younger, "Paige, do something."

Paige scans the alley quickly and raises her palm, "Power line!"

The power line orbs and falls on the creature. The sparks fly and the creature is encased by the pulsing light as it is electrocuted. It finally finds itself vanquished and explodes into dust. Phoebe and Paige get up and race over to Piper.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asks in concern.

Piper wrinkles her nose and quips sarcastically, "Peachy."

The sound of a baby making soft sounds catches the immediate attention of the three women. The Charmed Ones exchange curious looks and search to see where the sound is coming from. They discover that it is coming from a nearby bundle of blankets. Piper leans down to draw the blankets back. There is a baby lying there amidst the brown blankets.

The baby looks human, but then he sticks out his lizard-like tongue. The three women gasp.

Paige's facial features twist slightly and she remarks dryly, "Cute."

The baby sticks its tongue out again.

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**Author's Note:** Well, there it is… read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Just in case I need to say it again… I don't own them. I'm not making any money and I'm just entertaining my muse and anyone who might decide to read this.

**Author's Note**: Interested to see the responses and reviews to this once they start coming in. One change noted here (besides what you're going to read with Chris in it) is that this is occurring immediately following the Charmed Ones getting the baby… thus is still at night.

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Christopher Halliwell is in fact pacing back and forth in the Conservatory of the Manor as he waits for his mother to return. He looks at his watch, then he looks at the clock, then he looks at Wyatt who is sleeping peacefully in his playpen. Chris checks his watch again. Wyatt, seeming somehow to pick up on the anxiety coming from Chris opens sleepy eyes and looks at him.

Chris folds his arms over his chest and looks at Wyatt, "I'm giving her five more minutes and then I'm going after her. She can't ground me, I'm not born yet."

Wyatt makes a sound that contradicts that idea.

"What do you know? You were the trouble maker." Chris makes a face. Wyatt yawns and Chris nods at him, "That's what I thought." Chris paces away from the playpen again. He rakes his hands through his hair and lets out an impatient sigh. How had he managed to wind up stuck at the Manor for this? Oh, that was right, his mother had decided to go all over protective of him and had threatened to bind his powers if he didn't stay put. The way Piper had said the words was what had drawn Chris up short.

She had suddenly transformed into the woman that he remembered and he'd felt his throat tighten to the point that he couldn't argue against her wishes. The lines he had worked so hard to draw in his mind between _this_ Piper and the Piper that had been his _Mom_ had been blurring in the two weeks since he had drawn Excalibur and had his secret discovered. But tonight Piper had put her hands on her hips and had managed somehow to tower over him, even though she was much shorter. She had transformed from just Piper to his mother in truth. Her eyebrows had raised and the inflection in her voice when she said words he had heard her say before. They had been different then though. She had been talking to a fifteen-year-old Wyatt.

_Hey, who is the Mom here? Even the future King Arthur has to listen to his mother. You're staying here Wyatt. That's final. Don't make me bind your powers to make sure you stay out of trouble on your brother's birthday. Wyatt, you're going to stay here with Chris, are you listening to me?_ Wyatt, who had ended up leaving to go to the Underworld on his own anyway… and… and…

Chris' breath catches again and he stands still, trying to banish the thoughts. Behind him Wyatt makes another sound, which seems to be questioning if Chris is okay. Chris rubs a hand over his face and grinds his teeth together. He turns to give a slightly angry and accusing stare at the baby in the crib, and then his features soften again. "Not your fault," Chris utters softly and looks away from the toddler. There are tears brightening his eyes and he closes them, willing the unwanted emotion away. He looks at his watch, wondering what's keeping his mother.

The bright funnel of lights forms into Piper, Phoebe, and Paige just as Chris is about to go orbing to look for them. Chris' eyebrows rise when he sees the additional bundle that is in his mother's arms. Paige and Phoebe are on either side of her looking at the bundle.

Phoebe is talking as the three women solidify, "I still can't believe we vanquished its Mommy."

"Yeah, but we didn't know it was a Mommy," Paige says, "And besides. Mommy tried to kill us."

Phoebe leans over Piper to wiggle her fingers at the baby, "I know, still, look at how cute he is. So adorable. Oh, except when he does that weird little thing with his tongue."

Piper frowns, "I wonder why he looks so human?"

Paige holds out her hands and Piper passes off the baby to her.

"I don't know," Phoebe says, "But he probably won't for long."

Chris stands there with his head tilted to one side, watching them. He clears his throat, "Uh… hello?" The trio continues to ignore him.

"Maybe I should take Wyatt upstairs," Piper says, looking towards the playpen and the blond toddler who is now standing and looking at them.

"Don't worry about Wyatt," Phoebe says, "he's got his protective bubble. He'll use it if he needs it."

"Plus, he could have a new little friend," Paige says, walking the baby towards the playpen so that Wyatt can have a look at the baby.

"That is not a friend, that's a demon," Piper says.

"No, he's just a baby," Paige tells her as the baby shimmers out of her arms and into the playpen with Wyatt as though to contradict the very words that have left her mouth.

Piper's lips compress into a thin line seeing this, "Excuse me, were you at the same vanquish as me? Because it took all three of us to stop his mother."

Chris clears his throat again, "Hi? What am I, invisible? What's going on?"

Paige places her hands on her hips; her back turned towards Chris so she can look at Piper. The redhead says a bit defiantly, "It doesn't mean he's gonna turn out that way."

Phoebe ignores her (older) younger nephew as well, getting into the argument, "Paige, he doesn't have a choice. It's genetic."

Chris looks at the three women, and then looks at the baby in the crib with Wyatt wracking his brain for this story from his childhood and coming up short. Was this a ripple effect from the changes he had caused in the timeline? The demon he'd sent them after had been one they weren't meant to vanquish yet for several months. He can't recall hearing any stories about a demon baby. Or was he just forgetting some story here? Something is tickling the back of his memory, however, he just can't quite put his finger on it. The debate brewing between the sisters is a distraction to him figuring it out.

"No, I don't think so," Paige argues, "Okay, maybe I'm a little biased because I am in fact adopted, but I really think there's something to that whole nature versus nurture thing and predicting how a kid is gonna turn out. You know the classic environment versus biology argument."

"But this is not a child, it's a demon," Piper agues back.

"I'm just saying, children are clay to be molded. Need I remind you of Wyatt?" Paige points out.

Piper looks as though she's just been slapped across the face and Paige bites her lip. She hadn't meant that to come out like that and she knows that the fact that something is going to corrupt Wyatt and make him evil has been tearing Piper up ever since she had found out. Paige catches the 'great going' look from Phoebe. She also notices that Chris is giving her a similar look.

Chris quickly steps in and places a hand on his mother's shoulder. He hoped to avoid the inevitable words 'I'm a terrible mother' from coming out of her mouth. They were like a knife in his chest every time she said them. Chris looks between the three women and says, "So you vanquished the demon?"

"Yes and no," Piper says, her voice a bit husky now.

"Well, the good news is the demon you sent us after is in fact gone," Paige says, biting her lip. She looks apologetically at Piper, then at Chris grateful that he's decided to attempt a diversion for his mother's sake.

"And the bad news is whatever ate it, left us that," Phoebe says.

Chris looks at the playpen again and at the baby sitting next to Wyatt. The baby sticks out its lizard-like tongue at him and Chris takes a small step back. His eyes widen slightly and then it clicks suddenly. He _does_ know who this baby is. Who he'll become.

"I think he likes you," Paige says.

Chris looks sharply towards her and there is recognition in his eyes and on his face, mingled slightly with a bit of fear. His mother and aunts don't appear to notice the emotion. "I don't care. Vanquish it."

Phoebe is taken aback and even Piper lifts her eyes to look sharply at her son. Phoebe shakes her head, "Chris."

Chris' hand slides from Piper's shoulder and he moistens his lips, looking at Wyatt and the baby in the playpen with his brother. "I mean it. Now."

Paige makes a rather disgusted face at her Future nephew, "No, we are not vanquishing a baby. What's wrong with you?" Chris had done a lot of apologizing and she'd begun to get to know a little more about him in the last two weeks, but this sudden change back to the whitelighter that had come into their lives so unexpectedly several months ago baffles her. It is clear that it bothers Piper and Phoebe as well, who are both staring at Chris like he's grown another head.

"He could be the future evil that gets to Wyatt!" Chris protests, reaching towards the playpen to get his brother away from the demon. _No, not just any demon_, Chris thinks. As he reaches for his brother though, Wyatt puts up his shield over both himself _and_ the demon baby, keeping Chris at bay. Piper's eyebrows climb, she notices the quick changing of emotions on her son's face even if Paige and Phoebe don't. He's genuinely concerned about this.

Paige narrows her eyes and steps between Chris and the playpen, "Don't be ridiculous."

"What?" Chris' voice cracks slightly, "I'm being ridiculous? There is a demon in the playpen!"

Now it is Piper's turn to put a hand on her son's arm to attempt to sooth _him_. Chris' eyes dart towards her, but he looks at the playpen with worried eyes. The phone rings.

Paige frowns at Chris, but says, "I'll get it." She moves away from where she'd put herself between her future nephew and the playpen to answer the phone. She leaves the room.

"Hey, if it's Jason, tell him I'm in the shower," Phoebe calls after her.

"Did you having to leave mess up your date tonight?" Piper asks.

"Uh, no," Phoebe makes a face, "I kind of managed to do that before Paige showed up. I sort of, um, told him that I loved him."

Piper raises her eyebrows as she gives Chris' shoulder another squeeze. He's fallen silent again and is just staring at the playpen. His green eyes alternate between looking at Wyatt and looking at the baby the twice-blessed seems to have already made friends with.

Piper asks Phoebe, "Oh, and this is bad?"

"No, except I said 'I love you too' as if he had said 'I love you' first, which he didn't," Phoebe says.

"So wait," Piper says, "You told him that he loves you before he told you that he loves you?"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm," Phoebe nods. She follows Chris' staring gaze at the playpen and raises an eyebrow at Piper who just shakes her head. 'Give him a minute' the look seems to say and Phoebe finds herself yet again surprised at how Piper has miraculously become some sort of expert on her neurotic future son in the last two weeks.

"Yeah, that's not good," Piper says. She looks at Chris again as if she can see the wheels turning in his mind or perhaps see that they've all come to a grinding halt there.

"I'll be lucky if he doesn't move to Hong Kong permanently now," Phoebe says, "I really thought I had my empathy power under control."

"What are you going to do?" Chris asks without taking his eyes off the pair in the playpen. Chris swallows hard.

"What am I supposed to do?" Phoebe asks, "I mean, you know, you tell a guy that you love them and they bolt, you know, it's just what they do."

Chris shakes his head, finally looking away from the infant and toddler to look at his mother and aunt, "About D… about the baby, I meant the baby."

"You know him, don't you?" Phoebe asks.

"…I wish that I didn't," Chris says, "We gotta do something." The baby sticks its tongue out to scoop up a pacifier with it before he lays back as though to go to sleep. Wyatt is sitting next to the baby and looking up at Chris with his piercing blue eyes. Chris looks at Phoebe seriously, "Fast."

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In the kitchen Paige Matthews places one hand on her hip as the other one holds the phone to her ear. "I can't hear you, Darryl, speak up."

"I know I've never asked before, but I'm asking now. I need help on this one. Magical," Darryl says on the other end of the phone.

Paige's eyebrows climb as she looks at the clock. She asks, "Right now? Alright, what's going on?"

"This stupid kid," Darryl says, "and he's got hostages. Only I know him. He's a parolee of a friend of mine. The kid messed up a few times in the past, but he wouldn't hurt anybody. I've just run out of time to talk him down. SWAT's ready to move in. I don't want to lose him Paige."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming. Okay. Hold your horses," Paige says into the phone. She hangs up and grabs her keys.

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Back in the conservatory, Chris has shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from wringing them. Piper is leaning over the playpen with Phoebe as Chris hangs back slightly. Wyatt is looking at his mother, sitting like he's watching vigil over the baby to keep his brother away from him. Piper covers her eyes with her hands.

"Where's Wyatt? Where is he? Look, look, wait, listen. Where's Wyatt?" Piper says cheerily as she uncovers her eyes, "There he is! Look, look. Where's Wyatt? Where's Wyatt? There he is!"

Phoebe rolls her eyes and Piper sighs, "Alright."

Chris shakes his head, "Okay, I don't think distracting him is the answer."

"Wyatt?" Piper asks, attempting to sound stern although her son and the baby look cute together in the playpen. She's finding it hard to believe Chris' concerns about this baby, when he won't say much more than that he does know whom the baby will become. Still, she has to give it a shot attempting to separate her child from the demon baby, "Bad demon, very bad demon."

Paige returns into the room.

"Hey was that Jason?" Phoebe asks.

"No, that was my _raison d'etre_," the red head says.

"Pardon?" Phoebe asks. She steps away from the playpen to leave Chris and Piper to continue trying to separate the two children.

"That was Darryl," Paige says, "I was wondering why Richard was busy tonight and now I know why. I needed to be free to help Darryl."

Piper looks at her sister with a quirked up eyebrow. Behind her Wyatt puts his shield over himself and the baby again to keep Chris out. Piper asks Paige, "To do what?"

"Well, to save an innocent. Why else would he have called? And more importantly, why else would I have been the one to answer the phone?" Paige asks.

"Because you were the closest to it?" Phoebe offers.

Paige rolls her eyes, "No, because it's my reason for being. Call me if you need help." The redhead knows that she has something important that she's supposed to be doing with her life. The magical placements with the temp agency were a part of that, but the temp agency hadn't called lately. Now suddenly, Darryl was calling with the need for help. Paige could already feel some small stirring of knowing that this could possibly have something to do with what she had been waiting for. She nods to her sisters and leaves.

Chris stares after her and looks at his mother, "What, you're just going to let her go?"

"You're welcome to try and stop her," Piper says.

Phoebe chews her lower lip, "You know, I should go call Jason and try to talk to him. If I don't make an attempt to repair this tonight, I'm just going to keep putting it off." She starts to slip out of the room as well.

"And her too," Piper says to her son. She rests a hand on Chris' shoulder.

"Wait, stop, where are you going?" Chris asks his aunt, "Aren't you going to stay and help? There's a demon in the house!"

Phoebe gives Chris a frowning look, then gestures towards the playpen, "Chris, this is a baby, okay? Whatever he's going to do in the future doesn't happen for a long time I'm sure. This can wait until morning. Relax." The short-haired woman looks to Piper and smiles at her, "You call me if you need anything."

Chris makes a slightly strangled sound in the back of his throat and Piper smiles at Phoebe and calls after her, "Love you too."

Phoebe gives Piper a look, "Don't."

Piper's lips twitch upwards, "Sorry."

Phoebe leaves the room, leaving Chris and Piper to stand in the conservatory. Chris looks over his shoulder at the baby with Wyatt, and then at his mother, "Mom… you just let them leave…"

"Well, they don't seem too worried," Piper says.

"Well, they should be," Chris says, "That baby is a manticore and the rest of the pack is going to come looking for it."

"Manticore, huh?" Piper asks without any idea what exactly that is. She can look it up in the Book of Shadows later, so she shrugs, "So, we'll vanquish the rest of the pack when and if they come. You should get some sleep Chris. Guest room is waiting. We can deal with this in the morning."

Chris opens his mouth to protest and Piper gives him a slight shove out of the room. Now that she knows he's her son, the tables have turned. Chris' face wrinkles in frustration and he sighs and walks out of the room. Wyatt drops his shield when Chris leaves the room. Piper watches him go, and then looks in concern back to where her first-born child is laying next to the sleeping demon.

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In the alley where the Manticore mother was vanquished, a hunch-backed creature wearing a cloak is wandering around. He is clearly looking for something. The creature sees the blanket on the ground and finds it empty. He throws back his head and roars.

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Phoebe Halliwell is on the phone, listening to it ring repeatedly without any one answering it. She chews on her lower lip. She's thinking that she's really blown it this time and that there is no way he's going to want to ever speak to her again. "Come on Jason, pick up the phone…"

She hangs up when his answering machine comes on at last, giving up. "I guess tomorrow is going to be an uncomfortable day at the office," she muses quietly. She rubs her face and lies back onto her bed with a sigh.

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Chris walks downstairs twenty minutes later to find Piper sitting down as she is flipping through the Book of Shadows. Wyatt and the manticore baby are both sleeping soundly. She looks up at him and wrinkles her nose, "You didn't even go up to the guest room did you?"

"Yes, I did," Chris says, "But I came back down. I'm not going to be able to sleep knowing that demon is in the same room as my brother. You found Manticores in the Book?" He comes around behind his mother and leans over her shoulder to look at the entry. The entry lacks the listed vanquishing potion that he remembers from the Book in the future, but otherwise the entry remains the same.

Piper reads the entry aloud, "_Vicious demons with supernatural strength and venomous claws. Manticores communicate with high-pitch cries and tend to travel in packs_."

"So, you agree with me now right?" Chris asks, sitting down at the table with his mother, "We should get rid of him before the pack comes looking for him."

"What do you suggest we do with him? Call social services?" Piper asks testily.

Chris shakes his head, "No, I suggest you vanquish it."

Piper closes the Book and stands up. She shakes her head as she looks at her son who is still seated and manages to seem to loom over him again. "Chris, I'm a mother, I can't go around vanquishing babies, no matter how evil they are!"

Chris sinks lower in the chair as he looks up at her and he draws a breath. He quietly says, "It's not how evil he _is_, it's how evil he's gonna be. You've gotta stop looking at him like he's a little baby and start looking at him like he's an unstoppable killing machine, because that's what he is."

"Sweetie, I realize that," Piper says, "but still." She looks towards the playpen. For her it's impossible to see that baby lying so innocently with her son to be some sort of future killer. Her dark-haired future son obviously has no problems, but he's been through something involving this infant.

Chris shakes his head, following her line of sight. "But still nothing. You're supposed to protect the innocents, right? Well, Mom, think of all the future innocents you can save by vanquishing him right now."

Piper turns her eyes back to Chris and searches his face. He has that mask of his back up again, but there's something about his eyes that tells her a little bit of what is going on inside his head. Whatever it is though hasn't happened yet and that baby is still just a baby. "Chris… I just can't do it."

"Okay. Well, if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Leo," Chris says. He had been calling Piper 'Mom', but Piper had yet to hear Chris call his father by anything but his name. Chris looks at the two babies in the playpen again and then orbs out, leaving Piper at the table alone. Piper gets up to walk over to the playpen and takes a blanket, covering first Wyatt and then the manticore baby.

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**Author's Note**: Aaaand… Chapter Two is done. Click the button and review.


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